Mason's Lewis Is Prepared To Tackle Pro Football

Last season, rookie Wesley Duke played tight end for the Denver Broncos and caught a touchdown pass; he, too, was a college basketball star, at Mercer, but didn't play college football. The Redskins worked out two college basketball players -- Pittsburgh's Chevy Troutman and Miami's Will Frisby -- as potential tight ends last spring.

"A lot of personnel people have asked where all of the tight ends, defensive ends, pass rushers and outside linebacker-type guys have gone, and a lot of them have gone to play basketball," said Scott Campbell, the Redskins' director of college scouting. "So there are similar physical requirements as far as athletic ability: quickness, being big and strong, and being athletic-type playmakers. There is a correlation between the two."

Lewis's weight was listed as 275 pounds this season, but he said this week he weighs about 290 pounds. NFL personnel have told him he is being projected as either a defensive lineman or tight end.

"I don't think he's a guy who would be drafted, but I'm sure someone would sign him and give him a look in camp to try to make the roster if he decides he wants to play," one NFL general manager said this week.

Lewis played defensive end, nose guard, tight end, fullback and punter at Aberdeen (Md.) High, where he also starred in basketball and lacrosse. He rarely caught passes in his senior year, when his quarterback was current Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson, the younger brother of Minnesota Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson. But Lewis could be a dominant blocker on offense and a force on defense, according to his high school coach, Joe Harbert.

"He couldn't be handled," Harbert said. "When we put him in the middle he disrupted the center so much, because he was so big, that it took two guys to take him on, or sometimes three guys, and our linebackers just had a field day."

Lewis was recruited by several football programs, including Virginia Tech and East Carolina, but a combination of academic problems, a coaching change at Aberdeen and uncertainty over Lewis's future as a basketball prospect kept the interest lower than it might have been, Harbert said. When he didn't meet NCAA qualifying standards, Lewis headed to Maine Central Institute to play basketball, and from there to George Mason.

He finished his basketball career having played more games than anyone in George Mason history, and was twice named first-team all-Colonial Athletic Association. Lewis said he never had a preference for football or basketball in high school, and that he still doesn't today. The NFL is first on his career-planning list because the draft is rapidly approaching and because of the burgeoning interest he has received. He solicited NFL advice from E.J. Henderson this week, and said he's looking forward to the sort of physical contact that boxing out for a rebound can't provide.

"Once I get the pads on, I've just got to take that first hit to get me back in football mode," he said. "I definitely don't regret the route I went. I went that route for a reason. Now I'm just blessed to have this opportunity come back and present itself. So I'm definitely going to try to take that opportunity as far as I can."

Staff writers Jason La Canfora and Mark Maske contributed to this report.